Lawmaker plans bill expanding marriage to same-sex couples

MONTPELIER, Vt. --A Burlington lawmaker has drafted a bill to expand marriage to same-sex couples and plans to introduce it Thursday, although neither he nor advocates believe it will be debated or adopted this year.

Rep. Mark Larson, D-Burlington, said Wednesday he believed the state was ready to talk about giving gay and lesbian couples the ability to marry. They currently are able to enter into civil unions, a legal framework akin to but separate from marriage.

"Vermont is comfortable now with the full inclusion of same-sex couples into legal recognition," which was the question that was decided in 2000 during the civil union debate, Larson said. "Then the question was, `Does the state of Vermont give legal recognition to same-sex couples?' Now the question is, `How?'"

The 6-year-old civil union statute confers on couples only the marriage rights and responsibilities controlled by state government. Only one other state in the nation, Connecticut, recognizes civil unions, and supporters of broader marriage rights argue that they should be allowed to marry because that is more widely understood.

Vermont was the first state to recognize same-sex relationships when it created civil unions. Since then Massachusetts has begun permitting marriage and Connecticut has followed Vermont's route with civil unions.

A draft of the bill that will be introduced Thursday would do two things. First, it would give same-sex couples the right to marry. Secondly, it would allow clergy to refuse to perform a same-sex marriage if it violated their religious beliefs.

The bill would not address civil unions, either by abolishing them in favor of marriage or by setting out a process where a civil union relationship could be converted to civil marriage.

"There's nothing about the bill that would address the question of civil union," said attorney Beth Robinson of the Freedom to Marry Task Force, who worked with Larson on the bill. "It really focuses on eliminating the discrimination in the marriage statute."

Robinson said it was important to confer the status of marriage on same-sex couples. "A marriage license isn't just a piece of paper," she said. "It represents full inclusion among Vermont families."

Larson said he had discussed the bill with legislative leaders, but he sought no assurances that it would get a hearing this year. "We're realistic about what is on the plate for the Legislature already," he said. "I think it's time to start this conversation as well. ... It's the right thing to do to ensure marriage is equitably available to everyone."